Copper Piping

Jay_11

I am getting estimates to replace my steam boiler and one contractor who seemed very knowledgeable said the way they would do the piping is to use black steel pirpe for the header and all the near boiler piping above the waterline but below the waterline they always use copper piping which is more resistant to scale and is better for that purpose in their opinion. They say if they were replacing the wet returns, they would do this all with copper piping as well.

I know Dan's book says steel piping for the near boiler piping and I don't recall there being an exception for the piping below the waterline so I'd like people's views on whether this is an acceptable practice.

Unknown

look at this thread, same as yours.

http://forums.invision.net/Thread.cfm?CFApp=2&&Message_ID=112016&_#Message111752

Jay_11

Thanks for the x-ref but

... but not being a professional, I'm not sure what the ultimate outcome of the long thread was. Is it steel the prefrred way to go even below the waterline? I understood from Firedragon's post that he other do pipe in copper below the waterline--does that create the corrosion and buckling problems?

I assume that it is not a significant cost issue for the contractor since most of the near boiler piping will be done in steel--they won't be changing the wet returns much as I would like to because it is a finished basement. Should I insist the whole thing be done in steel?

Also my basement hot water zone piping which connects to the boiler apopears to be copper. When I get that hooked up to the new boiler I assume they will use copper--should I insist they use steel?

Unknown

The gist of the posting

is that almost all steam systems have some copper in them (like yours) and unless water chemistry changes from plain water, you probably won't harm anything with copper piping.

Tankless coils in steam boilers are copper, right from the factory.

Steel pipe and iron fittings are preferred on steam systems, because of this chance of chemistry change.

And this is just MY opinion.

Noel

Jay_11

Thanks!

Unknown

Ask your contractor

I bet you get still another good answer. You just read what some of the best installers, trainers, consultants, heat exchanger experts, water chemistry companies, boiler manufacturers, and other interested parties, from Canada and the United States, think about it.

It has to be one of the best discussions I've ever seen on this site, with many others as good, but not better.

Noel